Month: August 2018

Dear neighbor, Here is the 416th installment of Decoding Village Agendas to keep Croton residents informed of the actions of the Village Board at their meetings. I continue to add recipients to this email update on agendas so you may be receiving it for the first time. I enjoy getting your feedback and hope to continue to hear from you. If you do not wish to receive these periodic email updates from me, please reply to this email and your name will be removed from the email list.

Ann Gallelli

Decoding Village Agendas – August 27, 2018

Work Session of the Village Board

7: 30 p.m.

(Open to Public and Televised

Discussion with John Nikic, owner of 425 South Riverside Avenue, on proposed apartment building development. Mr. Nikic is proposing a 42-unit apartment building at the location of the current ET Equipment/Straddles across from ShopRite. He is asking the Board to consider some zoning changes that would be needed for this to happen. Mr. Nikic points to the need for this type of housing in the Village (for seniors, young adults, singles, etc.).

Discussion on moving forward with proposed local law on affordable housing. The Board will continue a multi-year discussion regarding an Affordable Housing Law. The Village conducted a facilitated discussion on housing needs in Croton in June of this year. The comments and input were intended to inform the discussion on a possible law. A proposed law that is under consideration would call for 1 affordable unit if 10-14 new units are constructed, 2 affordable units if 15-24 new units constructed, etc.

Discussion about proposed local law regulating solar installations within the Village. The draft law provides updates that would pertain to ground-mounted solar installations as an accessory structure. The draft law follows the guidelines of the NYS Model law for solar installations.

Discussion regarding current village ordinance on signage and possible changes. A proposed amendment would prohibit signs in the Village’s right-of-way and provide that temporary signs on private property include a date indicating when the sign was first placed.

Dear neighbor, Here is the 415th installment of Decoding Village Agendas to keep Croton residents informed of the actions of the Village Board at their meetings. I continue to add recipients to this email update on agendas so you may be receiving it for the first time. I enjoy getting your feedback and hope to continue to hear from you. If you do not wish to receive these periodic email updates from me, please reply to this email and your name will be removed from the email list.

Ann Gallelli

Decoding Village Agendas – August 20, 2018

Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees

8:00 pm

(Open to Public – Televised)

PRESENTATION/OTHER: Jay Peltz, General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Government Relations from the Food Industry Alliance of New York State, Inc., Lori Hodgkinson, ShopRite Store Manager for Croton-on-Hudson, and Sarada Bernstein, Manager of Community Affairs & Public Relations, ShopRite Supermarkets, Inc., address the Board on the proposed plastic bag ban.

Appointments to Boards & Commissions. The Mayor will announce any new appointments.

PUBLIC HEARING: Public Hearing to consider Local Law Introductory No. 7 to amend Chapter 168 of the Village Code, Parks & Recreation Areas, to prohibit smoking or vaping in village parks. The proposed law would prohibit smoking or burning of tobacco or tobacco substitute and carrying burning tobacco or tobacco substitute in the form of a cigarette, cigar, or any other smoke-producing product or device, including pipes, or the use of electronic cigarettes or other similar products that rely on vaporization or aerosolization, or the disposal of tobacco products, lit or unlit, including cigarette or cigar butts, except in containers designated for that purpose.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Email from Assistant Chief John Munson regarding membership changes in the Fire Department. The Board is advised that two new members have been added to the Department – Kim Russel-Goldstein and Senator Bjorge.

Memo from Daniel O’Connor, Village Engineer, requesting an extension of a building permit for 3 Mt. Airy Road. Mr. O’Connor requests that the Building Permit be extended another 6 months to February 22, 2019.

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS:

Consider adoption of a resolution in support of the Global Climate Action Summit and associated Croton Rise for Climate March being held onSeptember 8, 2018. The Board will consider supporting a local march on that date in support of Climate action world-wide. The march will begin at 10am at the Croton Library and proceed through the Upper Village to the Municipal Building and then to Vassallo Park.

Consider adoption of a resolution opposing the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers proposed plans for Coastal Storm Risk Management. A proposal from the ACOE suggests 6 possible alternatives to address storm surges along the coastline of New York Harbor. This are includes the Hudson River up to Troy. Riverkeeper has provided information on the inadequacies of several of the proposed alternatives. The resolution calls for a full analysis of all the proposals rather than just the one or two already tentatively selected by the ACOE. Additionally, the ACOE proposal does not include Coastal Zone Management Policies as among those to be included in any study. This effectively precludes municipalities with Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs (LWRP) such as Croton from commenting officially on any of the proposals. This resolution calls for those policies to be included in any review.

Consider scheduling a public hearing for September 4, 2018 at 8 PM in the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building Meeting Room for the purposes of renewing the special use permit issued to T-Mobile Northeast LLC, f/k/a, Omnipoint Communications, Inc. for the collocation of a personal wireless facility at 1 Van Wyck Street. T-Mobile is seeking a renewal its current special use permit.

Consider scheduling a public hearing for September 4, 2018 at 8 PM in the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building Meeting Room for the purposes of renewing the special use permit for 365 South Riverside Avenue. This is for the Motor Vehicle Service Station at that location.

Consider a resolution declaring the Village as lead agency for SEQRA Review of the Senasqua Park Walkway project and authorizing the Village Manager to submit the application package to the appropriate authorities. The design work and regulatory application paper work has been completed for this project. The resolution permits the administration to move forward with the application to receive the needed permits.

Consider adoption of a resolution to acknowledge the completion of the required Village Justice Court audit and authorize the Village Clerk to forward a copy of the report and resolution to the NYS Office of Court Administration. This is a required annual confirmation that the audit of the court documents has been completed.

Consider authorizing the Village Manager to execute a Water Infrastructure Improvement Act Grant Agreement with the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation and any and all other contracts, documents and instruments necessary to bring about the Project and to fulfill the Village’s obligations under the Grant Agreement. This would authorize the Village to take the necessary steps to receive the $271,650. Award from the NYS Water Infrastructure Improvement project for its corrosion control project which was mandated by the County Board of Health. The total cost of the project was $388,500.

Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to amend the 2018-19 General Fund Budget in the amount of $1,485.48 to account for insurance recovery funds received. This an insurance recovery for damages that occurred in the area of the Veterans Memorial.

Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to amend the 2018-19 General Fund Budget in the amount of $10,691.82 to account for reimbursement received for staff overtime. This reimbursement is from the Clearwater Festival for Village personnel overtime costs.

j. Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to make an interfund transfer in the General Fund in the amount of $8,506.00 for the purpose of covering expenses related to the Fire Department Inspection and equipment purchases.This amount would cover the costs of the upcoming Inspection in September and for 6 new pagers. Money for these expenses was anticipated in the adopted budget but is being held in the Contingency account for allocation as needed.

Dear neighbor, Here is the 413th installment of Decoding Village Agendas to keep Croton residents informed of the actions of the Village Board at their meetings. I continue to add recipients to this email update on agendas so you may be receiving it for the first time. I enjoy getting your feedback and hope to continue to hear from you. If you do not wish to receive these periodic email updates from me, please reply to this email and your name will be removed from the email list.

Ann Gallelli

Decoding Village Agendas – August 6, 2018

Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees

8:00 pm

(Open to Public – Televised)

PRESENTATION/OTHER: Appointments to Boards and Commissions. The Mayor will announce new appointments.

PUBLIC HEARING: Public Hearing to consider Local Law Introductory No. 6 to amend Chapter 172 of the Village code, Peddling & Soliciting. This law was previously amended in2015 to remove sections on non-commercial soliciting. This amendment includes specifics about licensing requirements for commercial solicitation.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Letter from Joel Gingold regarding cell phone service in the Village. Mr.Gingold notes poor cell reception in certain areas of the Village and inquires as to what is being done to improve it.

Letter from Jud Ramaker, Race Director, regarding the 38th Annual Harry Chapin Memorial Run Against Hunger. The race is scheduled for Sunday, October 21. Starting times have been moved earlier. Mr. Ramaker is requesting Village help from the Police, DPW, Fire and EMS departments. This has been provided in the past.

Memo from Jim Gile, IT Consultant, on Village’s cybersecurity protocols. Mr. Gile outlines the Villages approach to this as falling into three general areas: prevention, disaster recovery\ continuity, and Ongoing training and Strategy. He provides details of what each encompasses.

Memo from Daniel O’Connor, Village Engineer, regarding special use permit renewal for 365 SouthRiverside Avenue. Mr. O’Connor notes that several of the conditions from the previous special permit have now been completed but a few remain outstanding. This permit has expired and the Planning Board was unwilling to recommend renewal with these conditions still uncompleted.

PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS:

Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to amend the 2019-2019 General Fund Budget with respect to funds received for the planned multi-cultural festival. This reflects $500 received from The Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce in support of this event. The event will be held on September 29.

Consider adopting a resolution in support of the creation of a school speed zone on Route 129/Maple Street in the area of the school crosswalk. Although this is a State road, the law allows for speed limits to be created in the vicinity of a school if there are walkers or bikers. The proposed limit would be 20 mph from 7 am to 6 pm on school days.

Consider the adoption of the municipal benchmarking policy and procedures. The Village would use Building Energy Benchmarking to better understand the performance of municipal buildings to enable smarter decision-making regarding operational and investment decisions and identify opportunities to cut costs and reduce pollution. Summaries of the information gathered would be made available to the public in an annual report. This is currently being used in the Town of Bedford.

Consider scheduling a public hearing for August 20, 2018 at 8 PM in the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building Meeting Room for the purpose of adopting Local Law Introductory No. 7 to amend Chapter 168 of the Village Code, Parks & Recreation Areas, to prohibit smoking or vaping in Village parks. This would apply to all tobacco products as well as electronic cigarettes or other similar products.

Consider authorizing the Village Treasurer to make an interfund transfer in the general Fund in the amount of $7,900.98 for the purpose of covering expenses related to the Fire Department Fair, related fire prevention supplies and various training exercises. This authorizes expenses for the Fire Fair. Parts of the Fire Department expenditures are being authorized on an as needed basiswith money set aside in the contingency fund.

Consider authorizing the Village Manager to sign an agreement with Mancon, LLC in the amount of $5,000.00 for the purposes of inspecting and repairing the perimeter of the new DPW garage for leaks. Some water leaks have been found from exterior walls. This proposal will ensure that all are detected and remediated in the ongoing renovation of the building.

Last week, the Village of Croton-on-Hudson announced new 25 MPH speed limits on certain roads in the Upper Village area: Cleveland Drive, Grand Street, Old Post Road North and Old Post Road South. These new speed limits go into effect on Monday, August 27, 2018.

The amendment to the Vehicle and Traffic Code of the Village was made by the Village Manager after several discussions held by the Board of Trustees and the Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee. These discussions began with the Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee’s March presentation to the Board outlining a five-year plan to protect, improve, and expand biking and walking in the Village. One strategy proposed was a speed-limit reduction, particularly around the “dummy light” area of the Upper Village. The discussions were followed by correspondence from the Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee recommending a village-wide speed reduction to 25 MPH, which was part of the agenda of the June 4, 2018 Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees. The proposal to reduce the village-wide speed limit to 25 MPH was discussed at the televised July 16, 2018 work session of the Village Board.

In their letter to Board, the Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee (BPC) made the case for a 25 MPH speed limit: “It will be safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and fellow motorists. Slower speeds mean a driver has more time to react and needs less time to come to a full stop. And should an impact occur, that impact will be less injurious than one that takes place at a higher speed..It will improve the village’s quality of life. Speeding cars are noisy, aggravating, and anxiety-producing, particularly on the village’s often narrow thoroughfares. The reduction in speed will allow drivers to more easily ‘share the road’ with cyclists, walkers, and their fellow drivers, too…Neighboring municipalities have implemented 25 MPH to great effect. Using different strategies, NYC, Peekskill, Tarrytown, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, and Eastchester, among other nearby locales, have adopted a generally lower speed limit.”

Although the BPC sought a village-wide reduction in speed, it was determined that this was not permissible under State law. According to an opinion from the NYS Comptroller: “Based on the language of the statute which provides that no speed limit of less than thirty m.p.h. may be applicable “throughout” a village, it is clear that section 1643 [of the NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law] prohibits a village-wide speed limit of less than thirty m.p.h. […] Accordingly, a village has no authority under section 1643 to impose a village-wide maximum speed limit of twenty-five m.p.h.” This interpretation was affirmed by the Village Attorney.

However, Villages can set speed limits to 25 MPH on specific roads. While not ruling out including additional streets in the future, the Village Board of Trustees decided to implement a 25 MPH speed limit in the Upper Village. This area represents the commercial heart of Croton. The Upper Village is dotted by small businesses, apartments, houses, and houses of worship, as well as being popular with local students during their lunch break. The Upper Village was a the logical choice to reduce the speed limit in Croton due to its intense vehicle and pedestrian activity.

We ask for public cooperation as we work toward a safer and calmer community. For any suggestions you may have, please write to the Board of Trustees: boardoftrustees@crotononhudson-ny.gov

Sincerely,

Brian Pugh, Mayor

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